Analyst thinks impeachment vs Sereno only ‘out of revenge’

Political analyst Ramon Casiple. INQUIRER file photo

The impeachment complaint against Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was born out of the accuser’s need to seek revenge than to demand accountability, a political analyst has said.

Institute for Political and Electoral Reform Executive Director Ramon Casiple said lawyer Lorenzo Gadon had publicly admitted that the move to unseat Sereno was an attempt to “avenge” former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“He (Gadon) was candid enough to say he [filed the complaint] for three reasons. He wants to get back regarding what happened to [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo], who is his friend,” Casiple said during a public forum hosted by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Thursday.

“[Gadon] wants to make sure that the vice presidency goes to [former Sen. Bongbong] Marcos. And revenge—he has this opinion that what happened to CJ [Renato] Corona is unjust and he wants the ones who benefited from it, like Chief Justice Sereno, to be made accountable,” he added.

Casiple noted that Gadon was “not citing anything about accountability or autocracy” and even candidly conceded that the allegations in his complaint do not constitute “impeachable offenses.”

Gadon was one of Arroyo’s legal counsels in the plunder and other cases filed against her. Arroyo appointed Corona, whom Sereno replaced after being impeached by the Senate in 2012.

Arroyo’s appointment of Corona was heavily criticized and described as a “midnight appointment,” particularly by former President Benigno Aquino III.

Meanwhile, the younger Marcos has a pending electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, which is chaired by Sereno.

Voting 25-2, the House committee on justice on October 5 found “sufficient ground” to impeach Sereno even without discussing point-by-point Gadon’s allegations.

The committee would then proceed to determine probable cause to unseat the chief magistrate.

In her response to the complaint, Sereno maintained that Gadon’s allegations are false, baseless, and without any supporting evidence.                                                /kga